Objective: The study was designed to investigate the immunopathology of bulbar conjunctive adjacent to Mooren's ulcer of the cornea and to evaluate the roles of immune regulation status, the adhesive action of conjunctival cells and leucocytes in the pathological tissue in the pathogenesis of the lesion.
Method: 15 limbal conjunctival specimens from 14 patients with the progressive Mooren's ulcer were examined by using immunohistochemical stainings for T-lymphocyte and its subsets (Pan-T, TH and TS), B-lymphocyte, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and lymphocyte function associated antigen-1 (LFA-1).
Result: The ratio of T-helper to T-suppressor cells (TH/TS) in Mooren's ulcer group was significantly higher than that in the normal group, ICAM-1 was strongly expressed on conjunctival cells, whereas LFA-1 was strongly expressed in infiltrating leukocytes.
Conclusion: The immune hyperfunction at the peripheral corneal lesion and its adjacent bulbar conjunctiva possibly is the direct cause of the pathogenesis of Mooren's ulcer. Simultaneously, the mutual action of ICAM-1 and LFA-1 might play an important role in the development of the disease.